Winkler resident Lexie Elias will be heading to the Western Canadian Championships for powerlifting after a strong performance last weekend at the 17 Wing Powerlifting and Benchpress Championship in Winnipeg.
The event was her first competition, and Elias says she was thrilled to place second in her weight class, earning her a spot in Westerns.
Still relatively new to competitions, Elias says she had to overcome some initial fears before hitting her stride.
“I messed up my first squat basically because of nerves, I was really terrified standing with the bar at my shoulders,” Elias says. “But after that I was able to calm down and hit my lifts.”
The sport tasks athletes with three attempts to lift their maximum weight in the squat, bench press and deadlift. The three heaviest and successful lift weight totals are combined for a final score.
Elias needed 337 kgs to qualify, and lifted a total of 362.5 kgs.
“It was overwhelming, I definitely totalled higher than I expected,” Elias says.
While she never expected to become a competitive powerlifter, she says it’s a challenging, but rewarding sport.
“I really like actually that you can push your body to the limits, I’m doing way more than I ever thought I’d be able to,” Elias says. “Every day is a challenge, some days you are sore and don’t want to but you try to push through it anyway. It’s amazing what you can achieve if you put your mind to it.”
Elias’ coach Kurtis Fox explains it was rewarding to watch Elias progress and see huge strength gains in just 14 weeks.
“We can put all the things in place but they have to put the work in,” Fox says. “To see that happen, and then see them get rewarded for that is an awesome thing to watch.”
The Western Canadian Championships take place December 19 in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.
Courtesy of: Pembina Valley Online